...thank you for your continued support

Luckily, the seasonal climate in which we live generally allows us to slowly ease into different seasons. Spring, which starts at about 12:57 p.m. today, is finally here and we can start to put this emotionally and physically taxing winter behind us.

Barren branches will begin to bloom; a palette of dingy neutrals will make way for a kaleidoscope of color. When we breathe deep with spring air, we'll celebrate the season and all the beauty it brings after a long, cold winter.

However, not all the sights of spring are pleasing to the eye.

With warmer weather comes less clothing. With less clothing, unfortunately, comes the occasional total disregard for decency.

This subject isn't pretty, I'll warn you. If you're squeamish about anything rated above G, I suggest you just page back to the comics and have yourself a laugh there.

The warm weather worry of mine, is that once the mercury hits about 65 degrees or higher, it seems some women feel it's OK to parade around town without the proper undergarments.

They're lacking support in their lives.

They seem to just walk around free and unbound.

How can I put this politely?

They don't wear bras, people.

There's no pretty way to say it.

What? The audacity? A column about bras in the local newspaper? How offensive!

You know what else is offensive? Women walking around town without bras wearing skin-on-baloney tank tops and T-shirts which are barely thick enough to protect them from UV rays.

Whether they have flapjacks or cantaloupe on their grocery lists doesn't matter; I feel women should take a little more pride in themselves.

Gone are the days when we were squeezed into corsets and other contraptions. We don't have to do any of that anymore. There are so many different options when it comes to supporting the ladies, that I don't really want to hear any excuses why any woman feels the need to just set them free for the whole world to see.

And I know I write this article at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite. I once wrote something questioning the big deal whether a man or a woman walks around without their shirt on, and the fact that you can show 90 percent of the area with the exception of one tiny bit. I know. I remember writing that and I still feel the same way, but as I find myself people-watching around the area, I can't help but notice, I get more dressed up to go to bed than most women do to go out and about for the day.

Frankly, it's not fair.

It's bad enough everyone's walking around in their pajama pants, but to throw on a tank top with no bra and a pair of slippers or flip flops and call it a day? Come on. Have more respect for yourself. You're far better than that.

Never do I think a book should be judged by its cover and in no way am I saying these are bad people who choose this attire, I just think, as women, we should put a little effort into ourselves if for nothing else, for a sense of pride. I hardly consider putting on a bra effort, but that's just me, I guess I'm old fashioned.

Bras were patented in the U.S. in 1914 and we've been wearing them ever since. There was that time in the 1960s when women burned them in protest, but they remain a staple in a women's wardrobe present day nonetheless. At least I thought they did. A warm and sunny day last week running errands downtown proved otherwise.

And listen, it's not like I go around ogling other women, but honestly, it's sometimes impossible and distracting in such a way, one can't look away.

If there is, in fact, a bra shortage in the area and none of those who choose not to wear a bra are doing such out of pure laziness, by all means, let me know. I'll start some kind of collection. I'll donate. I'll eat these words and I'll dedicate my life's work to ensuring every woman gets the support she needs.

I just see a decline in the way women present themselves, and while I know not every female should be expected to partake in full hair and makeup on a daily basis, they can at least wear the proper foundation garments. Come on. That's the bottom of the barrel. It falls along the lines of brushing your teeth.

Take it off in the car on the way home, or pull it out of your sleeve as soon as you walk through the door, but please, consider some decency when out in public and try to keep the girls under wraps.

And, fellas, I know. I know you may be irritated with me right now. I know you like to see these types of things, but it's not something you should see in plain, public view. That's what your laptop is for. Plus, do you really want to see them all? All the different shapes and sizes? Everyone is certainly beautiful in their own way. Beauty has nothing to do with what's going on with your chest area, but wearing a bra should be a practice we, as part of Western Civilization, should be conditioned to uphold.

When you are kicking them with your knees as you walk, that's a safety hazard. It just makes good sense overall to give them a little lift. You'll likely increase your pace and lower the risk of giving yourself a black eye or a fat lip.

Some may not necessarily need them, some may not necessarily like them, but if we're going to live in a world that's right and fair, I say we all have to wear them.

I guess it's a pet peeve of mine. Perhaps I'm stuffy. I support women's rights, although I'm far from a feminist, but I find the whole "I'm not wearing a bra, hear me roar" argument to be a big ol' flop.

(Jenna Wasakoski is an assitant editor at The News-Item.)

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